dishies

my roommates and i walked around our apartment today figuring out different projects to begin as far as decorating the place goes. It's still quite bare as far as putting personal details around everywhere aside from our rooms/the kitchen. We came up with some cute ideas and the one I'm most excited about is displaying vintage dishes on the wall. 

for some reason I just looove collecting mismatched, beautiful, old dishes to use for everything but eating on. Whether it's displaying jewelry on it, putting a candle on top or putting make up brushes on it, etc. I've always admired when people incorporate the dishes into wall decor and I found the perfect wall to put them on! Now that I will have my car, thrifting/antiquing will become a part of my weekly schedule. I'm also on a hunt for a small Victorian style white bust & an old ornate antique wooden chair with a cushioned seat for a corner in my room. YA KNOW, normal 21 year old college kid shit. That stuff and turning 21 next Friday. Oh yeah.

my grandmother.

One of my favorite things on Earth is looking through old photographs, especially of loved ones from a different time. When I was little, I'd visit my Grandma Genevieve (mother's mother.) and look through her jewelry boxes, play in her closet and look at old photos. We also watched a ton of Lifetime original movies and I played with her scary-looking 1970's reindeer christmas decoration figurines but that's another story. 

The point is, she was a wonderful inspiration in my life and I think about her everyday. She's the first person that I ever lost and I look at my life or certain interests that I have and wish so much that she could be here to see how I've grown, and how our entire family has grown. I think she would be so proud.

Photos of her when she was younger are some of my favorite things to look at and one day, when I own a little boutique, I want these photos & other photos of my stylish female loved-ones framed on the walls for all to see, since they are my all time favorite inspirations. 

hold out ya haaand daaarling..

Monsters of Folk was one of those bands I always heard about/read about but was reluctant before I knew anything because the name of the band reminds me of something that has the potential to be HeAVy RoCk with tons of black tee shirts and cracked beer bottles. (I felt the same way about Eagles of Death Metal) but I was VERY wrong. It's actually the most perfect collaboration between Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes), M.Ward, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), and Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes). It's one of those albums I can play from start to finish, daily, and never get tired of it. In fact, I still look forward to scrolling through my ipod finding them to play whether i'm out running errands or working on schoolwork.

Here is an interview with them that made me love them even more. Jim James, hi? What's up.  Sorry, Caleb Followill/Jason Segel/Seth Rogen/::insert another mediocre awkward man's name:::, you're all great but I think I have a new person to late-night youtube search at night..

I'm a cherry ghost. Cherry ghost. Hey I'm a cherry ghost

the weeks literally zoom by like some sort of a RACECAR. i can't believe it's friday already and one week from today I'll have my car here (and it's halloween!). I'm waiting for two of my older sisters to arrive for the weekend. I'm so excited to see them & show them around Savannah. It will also be nice to just take it easy this weekend (in comparison to last friday's "massacre" of a night. fun, but yikes.) 

I'm so excited about a lot of things right now but two in particular would be - my new old lady shoes & my new book! The old lady shoes are what I'm going to call "Starkman shoes". The reason for this is because once upon a time, as miserable high schoolers..my friends and I would make fun of this tiny teacher named Ms. Starkman, who was literally the size of a doll. She would wear the tiniest play shoes that look like the ones above, so these are my Starkman shoes. They are matronly as hell and put a little GoLd PeP iN MA StEP. 

My new book is a gift I received today at work from my amazing boss Cheryl. It's put out by one of my favorite blogs/websites--Apartment Therapy. It was so kind of her to let me keep this. And although I must admit this week was a little tough there due to certain things that occurred, it's still such a great place to work. It's extra cool that I can go there and have so many things in common with the people who work there although we're all different ages. I find them inspiring in so many ways.

I know I go on and on about how great it is being here (it has it's rough times of course), but truthfully I don't think I've ever been able to connect to people this much in my entire life. I've never felt so okay with things, myself, and where I am. Ever.  For ONCE, i'm not the girl not talking to anyone in class scribbling in my notebook, not even wanting to bother with anyone and putting effort into only 3 or 4 friendships. Now, If I'm not talking to anyone it's usually because I'm doing something I'm concentrating on and I'm working hard on it, not because I'd rather be invisible. I'm not that girl anymore, it's kind of cool. 

all the notches in your belt make your pants tight

Hi reader. I need you to do me a favor and listen to Lissy Trullie. Are you a straight girl and sometimes feel weird and question your life for a couple minutes when you have a crush on androgynous female musicians? Tegan and Sara, anyone? Well. Add Lissy Trullie to that list. I'm not sure what it is but I just like her. I've been listening to the album "Self Taught Learner" on repeat and it's so great. Try it out, listen to the sounds, question your sexuality, or don't. Better yet, don't admit this on your blog. Or do. It's 2009 baby. (HAAAY MOM! don't worry.)

bits of home.

if you're my facebook friend, you've probably seen these. you and probably numerous bros from my old school/high school looking at it like "WhUuT Why is She UpLoaDinG piCS Of OLd  peOpLE HoUSe sTuFf who CAReS". Anyway, I figured I'd share a couple..(click image to get full size..)

oo la la

this week has been rainy and miserable out so I have not headed downtown since this past weekend but I can't wait til it's nice out so I can go buy curtain pull-backs & maybe stop at Papillote. What's that you ask, Few and perhaps Non Existent Blog Readers? Papillote is a little gem that I've fallen in love with, located in the heart of Savannah's downtown.

As I've discovered many times just walking around this city, there is a tremendous French influence. Tiny Parisian inspired boutiques, salons, decor, etc. Many things in this city remind me of Europe, especially France. So when I was walking down Broughton street one day with my roommate, I spotted a beautiful French looking storefront which turned out to be Papillote, a gourmet French cafe & bakery. As soon as you step foot in the door, an overwhelmingly delicious aroma hits your senses and you're torn figuring out if it's something savory or sweet. (WHAT A SENTENCE, HUH?) 

The interior is decorated perfectly as if you're actually in an actual Parisian cafe with an effortlessly chic and simple feel with tiny details that make you want to "awwww". I have yet to try any of the soups or sandwiches they make fresh for you to eat there or take away but i have tried a couple of sweet things. 

First off....if you're a fan of blogs, specifically fashion or design blogs, you know all about how macarons have become the latest 'fashion food'. They are beautiful! I've never tried one until I moved here and had one at Papilotte. There are two featured flavors of macarons daily, and the ones I've tried are coffee and lavender peach. KILL ME. They tasted like perfection. Their brioche bread & gold dusted brownies are amazing also.

Now, I don't want to be a trader to my place of work, but I don't think I am. That's the beauty of having a variety of different places in a city you live in because though both might offer sweet & savory items in an adorable atmosphere, they are both very different and admirable for their own reasons. 

Paula Deen, who? I'm going to be Savannah's greatest Public Relations icon and reel in all the tourists with one delicate click of my blog update button. 

Now excuse me while I go finish a completely safe, boring and amateur still life drawing. Friday night cannot come soon enough. If this weekend is anything like the past two, i'll be a lucky girl. It's been fun

fall

have i ever mentioned on here how in love i am with Steven Alan? I think somewhere along the way I have. The fall 2009 collection? Makes me want to cry. It's perfect. I love the incorporation of menswear into feminine looks, especially the dark reds, flannel, olive, navy, khaki and sailor-looking prints. I cannot wait until it starts getting chilly here so I can break out all of the sweater-weather outfits. 

I keep seeing facebook friends uploading apple picking photo albums and fall weather statuses and it's making me a bit jealous. Yeah weather here is beautiful, but it's 82 degrees in October. SHITS GITTIN REAL OLD, YA'LL. Biking around will be 10 times better when it's breezy, especially since my ipod stocked with 1200 new songs (YES!) and well, that just makes everything better.

One thing I really miss about going to school in PA is that there was an abundance of large thrift shopping places. Two Salvation Army stores that were the size of Target, and a supermarket sized Volunteers of America. All filled with hidden gems at ridiculously cheap prices. It was fun to spot 'trends' and get inspiration from blogs or wherever, and go on adventures at the thrift stores to find low-budget versions. There may be some good thrift stores around here but in driving distance. So far, my favorites in Savannah are - Civvies and The Clothing Warehouse, but both are well aware of the finds that they have in the store. The beauty of thrifting in Wilkes-Barre was that the majority of the people shopping in the stores were just trying to find clothes and not caring about what was fashionable. A pair of sunglasses could be 10 dollars in a downtown Savannah shop but the same pair would be 50 cents in WB. 

I'm looking forward to getting my car down here (two more weeks!) for when I need to do basic things like go to Target and the grocery store, but also to find some hidden southern thrift store/antique treasures off the beaten path. Downtown stores are all nice but I want the kind where I need to search and search through moth ball smelling racks of goods and pay a total of $10 for 5 dresses. You know, that kind.

Of course i'm loving being in biking distance from urban outfitters, gap, banana republic, american apparel, etc. because thanks to a sale yesterday I found the most perfect leather jacket to wear with dresses. I've been searching for one that doesn't make me look like a T-Bird and I finally found it. 30% off. 

Yesterday, in what I hope is the last leg of my "Digital Things Hate Me" phase, I've become a MacBook owner. Thank the Fucking LORD. My Dell has always been alright until I moved here 2 months ago. It's been downhill from there, and after spending $300 to get it fixed the first week I moved here, the screen starting dying, the battery died, I ordered a new one, then all of it all together died. Cool, Dell. Thank you. Blessing in disguise? I impulsively (well..kind of. it was either that or no computer at all) bought a MacBook and I must say, i'm in love.

Tomorrow it's back to work (!!) and school. Tons of projects, quizes, and then the weekend will return to me. It's been getting more fun and better each and every weekend. Meeting more and more people, learning a lot, being challenged, working, and having a blast. Tons of technical difficulties & no car but hey. It's fine. 

ps- you know that obligatory photobooth pic was coming. macbook must have, i'm sorry.

wants

marc by marc jacobs bow ring - um, clearly this is needed. mj, bows, chunky black and gold? please. this is a type of ring that would most likely not even fit on my fingers or if it did, it would be the first thing to scratch me in the face or get caught in my hair (i'm always the optimist) but it's still adorable. what's that i hear? oh..it's just forever 21 making a knock off as we speak.
"carrie basket" - this basket kills me, especially since my main form of transportation these days is my bike. i'm not one to name a favorite color but let's just say this type of green is up there on my list. the design of the basket is so whimsical and reminds me of a cross between lace and some of the architectural details on a lot of the older houses in savannah. i don't know. i want it. i just need a cuter bike to go with it, because my (borrowed) purple bike is not a match for this basket. a sight for sore eyes, for sure.

free people ballet biker glove- i straight up gasped when i saw these. i'm always torn between the whole 'biker' look that's going on (thanks alexander wang.) because i dress pretty feminine but want to throw in things every now and then with 'edge', but i always walk the line between girl wearing something with edge and butch. the leather jacket craze? i'm tryin. crazy 'i'll punch your fucking face" biker gloves? i would look like an ass. these gloves? the perfect mix, but are still 96% feminine. love.



all of these gems were found over at Slice of Style which is my brother & cousin's website. it's so great, check it out!

etsy

for some reason, since i've moved here i've been going on etsy adventures at night when i should be sleeping. at first i told myself i'd buy cute houseware stuff and have it sent to my house here blah blah blah. let's face it. i love finding vintage clothing and canvas totes on etsy. this kills me because i look at 90% of the vintage stuff and know how overpriced it is and how i could easily find it somewhere else for half the price...but there is still some sort of thrill in the (online) hunt. here are some of my purchases during the past few weeks:

truly sanctuary

23 stien

lucky vintage seattle

allencompanyinc